Stats SA: fuel, toasters and cell phones all cheaper in 2017

If you love eating pineapples while browsing the internet on your smartphone, you’ll love the latest batch of statistics from Stats SA.

The latest Consumer Price Index report suggests that South Africans are paying less for fruit, telecommunications services and telecommunications equipment when comparing January 2017’s prices to those from August 2017.

Household appliances also dipped by 2.4%, while price decreases were noted specifically for “irons, kettles, toasters and washing machines”.

Telecommunications hardware however saw the greatest price drop.

“The price index for telecommunication equipment continued on its long-term download trend, falling by 8,6% in August compared with January. The average price for a cellular phone, for example, decreased by R82 from R2 622 in January 2017 to R2 540 in August 2017,” Stats SA noted.

“Since January 2014, overall prices for telecommunication equipment have fallen by 36%!”

Author | Andy Walker: Editor

Camper by day, run-and-gunner by night, Andy prefers his toast like his coffee -- dark and crunchy. Specialising in spotting the next big Instagram cat star, Andy also dabbles in smartphone and game reviews over on Gearburn. More